Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
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Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
1–10 of 52 posts
Re: Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
#2>The gun is nothing special. Its controls are unsophisticated; it is not even particularly accurate. But this simplicity is a reason for its success. Compared with other assault rifles, the AK-47 has generous clearance between its moving parts. That is bad for accuracy, but it means that the mechanism is unlikely to jam, no matter how clogged it gets with Sudanese sand or Nicaraguan mud. Designed to be operated by Soviet soldiers wearing thick winter gloves, it is simple enough for untrained recruits (including children) to use.
Worse is better.
>Correctness The design must be correct in all observable aspects. It is slightly better to be simple than correct.
Re: Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
#3A perfect example of the K.I.S.S. Principle.
Re: Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
#4Tl;dr
It's a "good enough" gun that the Soviets and licensees made over 100m of. Guns, parts and ammo are available anywhere.
Re: Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
#5Fluff piece, unfortunately.
Re: Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
#6>The gun is nothing special. Its controls are unsophisticated; it is not even particularly accurate. But this simplicity is a reason for its success. Compared with other assault rifles, the AK-47 has generous clearance between its moving parts. That is bad for accuracy, but it means that the mechanism is unlikely to jam, no matter how clogged it gets with Sudanese sand or Nicaraguan mud. Designed to be operated by So…
>the AK-47 has generous clearance between its moving parts. That is bad for accuracy, but it means that the mechanism is unlikely to jam
Not only is it less likely to jam, but it probably also allows much looser tolerances for the parts, making them much easier to machine/make.
Re: Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
#7Tl;dr It's a "good enough" gun that the Soviets and licensees made over 100m of. Guns, parts and ammo are available anywhere.
In my mind that is the only reason, because the USSR made a whole lot of them, and then shipped them out to every third-world country.
It is for a similar reason AR-15s are so popular here in the USA, because the US Military mostly uses M16s ,which are almost the same, and therefore they are the "cool, I'm almost-for-really a soldier now" gun.
Re: Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
#8I think this was well explained in the intro to Lord of War. An amazing movie that asks interesting questions about success as a motivator.
Re: Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
#9This post stopped well short of describing the advantages and disadvantages of both AK-47s and M-16s in favor of emphasizing how bad weapons are. The Wikipedia entry is much more informative: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_the_AK-47_and_M16
Re: Why did the AK-47 become so popular?
#10Tl;dr It's a "good enough" gun that the Soviets and licensees made over 100m of. Guns, parts and ammo are available anywhere.
In my mind that is the only reason, because the USSR made a whole lot of them, and then shipped them out to every third-world country. It is for a similar reason AR-15s are so popular here in the USA, because the US Military mostly uses M16s ,which are almost the same, and therefore they are the "cool, I'm almost-for-really a soldier now" gun.
The popularity of the AR-15 is related to the popularity of the M16, but the "pretend you're a soldier" aspect isn't the main reason. A more complete explanation includes:
- Lots of manufacturers
- Reliable action (depending on manufacturer)
- 5.56mm NATO and/or .223 Remington ammo is (or, before late 2012, was) relatively cheap
- Light recoil
- Tons of accessories available
- Relatively accurate
- Fun to shoot
And also, among gun guys, there's at least a little bit of the feeling that by owning one, you're giving the middle finger to people who want to ban them.